And May the Gods Be Ever in Your Favor
by FequalsMA
Summary: Reyna and Nico strike up a friendship as they race to bring the statue home within the deadline. Piper and Hazel struggle to come to terms with the fate they've chosen for themselves. Percy, Annabeth, and Jason finally learn the lesson of stepping back and letting go. And Frank and Leo do what they do best...blunder around and provide comic relief.
1. REYNA

REYNA- This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

As the primary defender of Nico, Coach Hedge, and a priceless ancient Greek statue of Athena, Reyna knew that sleeping wasn't part of her job description. And yet, no sooner than they had touched down from Nico's first segment of shadow traveling, Reyna had conked right out. She knew Nico would be passed out, too, leaving the world's fate, however momentarily, in the hands of the faun. But there was nothing to do about it now; she was already dreaming, wandering aimlessly around a dark, damp forest. The moon left her just enough light to see a few feet in front of her.

"Reyna!" A voice behind her shattered the still night.

She whipped around and tried to draw her sword, before she remembered that this was a dream. Then she registered the voice, and laughed in relief. "Jason!"

Reyna briefly wondered if Jason always approached so quietly because he was just naturally a silent walker, or if he was really hovering a millimeter above the ground, cushioning his steps with the air. Achieving the silent hunter's walk had taken Reyna years of conscious effort.

"I'm sorry." Jason stood before her, looking a little uncomfortable, though Reyna supposed she couldn't blame him. "Hazel helped me out with this dream thing, and I'm not sure how long it'll last, so if I get cut off early, I wanted to say that first."

Reyna frowned. "Hazel?"

Jason pursed his lips. "Long story."

Reyna hid a grimace. A year ago, she and Jason didn't have secrets from each other. And as long as the story might have been, Jason would have been able to tell it in a few short sentences. Reyna would have understood.

That was the way they'd always been: one cohesive unit. Maybe not in the way Reyna had wanted, but they were a team nonetheless. But now with a girlfriend and a sister both from camp half blood, Reyna had felt that bond stretch to the point of snapping, never to be mended again.

"Hey, is Nico or Coach Hedge awake right now?" Jason asked.

Reyna shook herself out of her reverie. "Not Nico. Hedge should be, though. Why?"

Jason looked uneasy. "I'm not sure exactly how this works. Since no one's woken you up yet, maybe you can't be woken up until I do."

Reyna shrugged off his worry. "I still have some of Circe's magic, you know. What was it you came to say?"

Jason shifted his weight uncomfortably, but finally looked her in the eye. "I'm sorry. For disappearing on you. And for firing on your city. And for not trying to contact you sooner. Well, for everything, really."

Reyna sighed. She flashed back to a similar exchange, but with Percy Jackson. _Still, if I hurt you, I'm sorry, _he'd said. And Reyna had replied: _An apology? Not very Roman at all, Percy Jackson. _

She had to work to refocus her attention on the present. "You're not coming back, then?"

Jason shook his head. "We're still friends, though… right?"

Straight to the point. A year ago, Reyna never imagined that they'd be in a place where their friendship was called into question by either of them. But here he was, telling her he'd found a new home, and asking for her forgiveness. No, more than that. For her blessing.

She managed a small smile. "Of course."

Jason sighed in relief. "Right." He smiled hugely. "Ok, good. Listen, have you thought about how you're going to cross the ocean? Nico can't do it in one trip."

Reyna bit back a curse. Truth be told, no one had planned for this trip, and unfortunately, she didn't get the feeling that either of her companions excelled at thinking ahead. It wasn't her strong suit, either.

"I'd say build a boat, but I don't know how much Nico can tow with him, and I guess it would take too long, anyway," Jason said. "You'll probably need immortal help."

Reyna nodded. "Not Neptune, of course, though I have no clue who else we could ask."

Jason spoke hurriedly, as though he was worried Reyna would cut him off. "What if you did ask Neptune? Well, Poseidon, really. Aside from Athena, he changed the most. Maybe we could unite his aspects, too?"

Reyna recognized more emotion than she would have expected attached to his plan, but she couldn't quite place it. "We'll try." It was a general understanding, though, between the two of them what _try_ meant, and it definitely wasn't a promise of success.

Still, Jason nodded. "Thanks. And one more thing…" He hesitated long enough that Reyna had to prompt him to continue.

"Nico's a good guy. I know we had our reservations about him, but at the palace of Diocletian, we ran into Cupid. And he- well- it didn't sit well with him. Cupid forced him to talk about something that he wasn't ready to face. But I get the sense that there was something more that he didn't even tell me."

Reyna frowned. It sounded like Jason was saying that Nico had been forced into some sort of confession about which girl he liked, but she couldn't see how this was in any way relevant. Her patience was wearing thin. What she'd originally hoped would be a comforting word from Jason was turning out to be something entirely different. "So… what are you saying?"

"That Nico's important. Cupid singled him out for a reason, even if no one knows what that is yet. But he's going to need a friend, a guide, to succeed in his part. And aside from Coach Hedge, you're all he's got."

Reyna understood the implication clearly, whether or not Jason meant her to. _He's all you've got, too._

She smiled wryly. "Don't worry, I'll be nice."

"Awesome."

"So that's it?" Reyna was starting to have a hard time holding herself together, and found herself wishing that Jason would leave. Instead, he hesitated for just a second before he walked forward and hugged her.

"Everything's going to be ok," he said fiercely. "I can feel it."

Reyna couldn't believe his nerve. "Don't you have a girlfriend?" she asked pointedly, shrugging out of his grasp.

Jason was bemused. "I'm honoring a friend."

"Well, you can't just do that," Reyna finally snapped.

"What?"

"You can't just come back here after gods know how many months and expect everything to be fine between us. I know it wasn't your fault, ok? I know that you didn't ask for any of this, and I never doubted you a second the whole time you were gone. But do you have any idea what it was like for me?" She furiously wiped a tear. "Do you have any idea what that looked like when you left when you did?"

Jason rushed to his own defense. "It wasn't my fault, you said so yourself!"

"Juno didn't take you right away, though, did she, Jason? You left without an explanation that night, and it wasn't fair." Reyna could hear the hurt and betrayal in her voice, and she hated herself for it.

"And you think getting ripped from my own life, transported across the country without my memories, and being forced into a quest to save the goddess who stole me was fair?" Jason laughed derisively. "You have got to be kidding me."

Reyna threw him a withering look. "Spare me. You regained your memories a full eight months before you came back. You could have contacted me, could have pulled me aside when you finally did come back, you could have warned me. But I guess you were too busy playing boyfriend to that charm-speaking witch you're consorting with," Reyna sneered. "I hope you're happy, Jason Grace, because you know something? I just might be better off without someone like you in my life."

Jason kept his cool with ease. "Well then I'm glad I didn't stick around." He turned to leave, but stopped for a second to look back, a small smile playing on his lips. "You know, for someone who claims to be so in love with me, you don't know me very well at all."

Reyna kept her shock hidden. "I couldn't agree more. The Jason I knew would never abandon his home like that."

"Hey, I'm on this quest to _save_ your home. And if you honestly think that I'm the kind of guy that would run away from everything I know just because a co-worker had an silly insignificant crush on me, then you've got another think coming."

Reyna felt like she'd been slapped in the face. She'd already said too much, argued for too long, and she could tell she was seriously about to lose it, so she pulled herself out of the dream without another word.

When Reyna awoke, she was sweating, though she could see her breath, which was a strange combination. She didn't want to move. She'd had less than a day to recover from her solo trek halfway across the world, and she was starting to feel the effects creeping up on her. Nico's voice, rough but strangely muted, startled her.

"You look like you could have slept better."

"You have no idea," Reyna said darkly. She was sitting up, wincing as she felt the bruises on her ribs that ambrosia had only half healed, when she first caught sight of Nico. He held a rag to his nose, which was bleeding freely, and he had a large purple lump above his left eyebrow. His face was stained with tears, though he was thankfully no longer crying. His arm shook as he held the rag to his face, as though the effort was almost more than he could muster.

Reyna hurried over. "Gods, what happened to you?" Had she slept through a fight? Reyna took the rag- which on closer inspection turned out to be one of his shirt sleeves- and held it for him.

"Vivid dreams." Nico started to slump, so Reyna dragged her pack over and propped him up against it.

"What do you mean?"

Nico looked up, confused. "I thought it was happening to you, too."

Reyna frowned. "_What_ was happening?"

"The dreams. I dreamed I was holding the weight of the sky with a bunch of ghosts. But they turned out to be Hazel and all the demigods from the quest. As soon as I would recognize one, they would vaporize, and leave me alone. These rocks kept flying around in the wind- I guess they were falling from the sky, maybe- and finally, one hit me on the forehead, and knocked me over."

"How much ambrosia have you had?"

"Two squares. I don't think I should risk any more just yet."

"I agree."

Nico's story disturbed Reyna greatly. It was common for demigods to dream prophecies, communicate with others in their sleep, or witness scenes from the past. But she'd never heard of anything like this. It was a particularly bad situation because Nico would be unable to keep himself awake after shadow traveling, opening him up to new injuries every leg of their journey.

"How come your nose is bleeding?"

Nico shrugged. "No idea."

"Probably from your head wound. I bet you had a concussion."

"The thought crossed my mind. It's lucky it woke me up, so I could treat it as soon as I did. Coach Hedge said I'd be fine."

Reyna rolled her eyes. "I'm sure. Where is he, anyway?"

"Guarding the statue." Nico gestured to the bottom of the hill they were resting on. "It rolled down when we landed, but we both conked out, so he's been down there keeping watch." Reyna saw that the faun- no, satyr- was swinging his baseball bat threateningly at the surrounding boulders and trees. "We should probably go help him."

"Yeah, I don't think you're physically capable of walking right now."

"Fine. How'd you get off so easy, then?"

"Oh." Reyna hesitated, not really wanting to talk about it. "Right. Jason put me to sleep so he could talk to me."

"You spoke to Jason?" Nico asked furiously.

Reyna definitely was missing something. "Yeah, so?"

Nico scrutinized her carefully. His anger seemed to evaporate as quickly as it had flared up. "Well… nothing, I guess. If it was just Jason, why were you so upset?"

Reyna sighed. "Oh, we argued. It's not an uncommon occurrence."

"Anything else?"

And here it was, the reason she and Jason never felt like they could trust Nico. He was always trying to find out as much as he could, but he refused to give anything away. He wasn't very good at it; he was no Octavian, and so neither of them had given it much thought. But now that Reyna knew how powerful Nico truly was… well, it rubbed her the wrong way. Like he didn't trust her yet.

Had Reyna grown to trust Nico? Truthfully, she still hadn't made up her mind. She wished she had Aurum and Argentum with her, but it would hardly have mattered. Nico wasn't really a liar, so to speak. He mainly concealed. But they were working together now, and what kind of praetor would she be if she started keeping things from him? _A normal, sane, responsible praetor_, she thought to herself. But if she wanted Nico's trust, he deserved to be treated as an equal. So she caved.

"Jason's not coming back to Camp Jupiter when the war is over," Reyna told Nico bitterly. "So I accused him of running away and told him New Rome would be better off without him."

Nico chuckled. "And?"

"Well, he called me selfish, and told me I didn't know the first thing about him. So I left."

"Typical," Nico snorted. "He'll get over it. Besides, if we all survive the war, it's not like you'll never see him again. Greek and Roman demigods will be working together, visiting each other's camps all the time. It won't be the end of the world."

"What makes you so sure it won't actually _be_ the end of the world? We might all be dead in a week."

Nico shook his head. "I don't buy that. Not anymore. Things tend to work themselves out, haven't you noticed?"

Reyna shot him an incredulous look. "Where's this coming from? You've had some really rotten luck."

"Not me," Nico hurriedly qualified. "No, people like you and me don't tend to have happy endings. But people like Percy and Jason?" He smiled bitterly. "The universe practically bends to their will. There might be some ups and downs- that's an understatement, I know- but they have happy endings. So, no, I'm not too worried."

It was an interesting way of looking at the world, Reyna supposed. She decided to go ahead and like Nico.

Author's Note:

Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a review with a comment, question, or suggestion :)  
>Sort of a slow start, but I wanted to set up the foundation for the NicoReyna friendship. Don't worry, there will be plenty of action later!  
>As far as points of view go, there will definitely be Reyna, Nico, and Piper. I haven't decided on the rest, but all nine main characters will definitely have a part to play in the story.<p>

PS. This is also posted to Archive of Our Own under the username WhatBusinessDoYouHaveOnMars


	2. PIPER (PART I)

PIPER (PART I)- Careful the Wish You Make

Back in the day, Piper used to wish that she didn't have to sleep when there was a battle coming up. She hated to waste the time, and the depressing dreams always added enough doom and despair that it barely made getting the extra rest worth it.

Now, when she'd been up for around eighteen hours and was just desperate enough to wish for a prophetic demigod dream, Piper was wide awake. Nothing like the impending end of the world to induce a little insomnia. Physically, Piper was exhausted. She and Percy had just finished a six hour watch that had left them both battered from head to toe. Piper wanted nothing more than to collapse on her bed and sleep until this was all over.

But since the Nymphaeum, and especially since the House of Hades, she hadn't been able to make her mind shut up. Things were okay when she was occupied- fighting monsters with Hazel, planning with Annabeth, arguing with Leo, spending time with Jason…. But the watch with Percy inevitably left the two of them with down time, and it didn't do either of them any favors.

Piper had tried to keep them talking as much as possible, but it wasn't always easy with Percy. For example:

Piper: "So what's your deal with blue food?"

Percy, as he scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably: "Um, well, it's kind of a long story."

Piper: "Is it? Really?"

Percy: "Well, ok, fine, I guess it isn't." He heaved a sigh, like talking about his past was the biggest burden Piper could have placed on him, which maybe it was. "So my mom used to be married to this really gross guy, Smelly Gabe. And he once said that food couldn't be blue, and ever since then, my mom and I have gone out of our way to prove him wrong every chance we get."

"That's a nice story," Piper said quietly, guilt churning in her stomach at the way Percy's voice had faltered at the end.

After that, she had tried vainly to find a subject that wasn't painful for either of them, but her options were limited: Camp Half Blood- Percy missed it too much; Annabeth- Piper honestly didn't know where Percy and Annabeth's relationship currently stood; the future of the quest- even more depressing for Piper than it was for Percy…

Eventually she'd given up, and she and Percy had taken turns timing each other to see how long they could balance their swords on different body parts. Piper was okay at it, but Percy was incredible, switching from elbow to fingertip to the side of his foot without faltering. When Piper asked him how he got so good, Percy just replied "hackie sack," like that memory was painful, too.

It was a relief when monsters did attack; Piper forgot about her troubles on the large scale, and just focused on what was right in front of her. Just pure adrenaline and action, always the best medicine for demigod restlessness.

A soft knock on her door was a welcome distraction from her thoughts. The door opened a crack, and Hazel poked her head inside, looking deeply troubled. It took just as long for Hazel to register Jason's sleeping form as it did for Piper to remember that he was there in the first place and she leapt out of bed noisily to follow Hazel, who had vacated the premises faster than Annabeth being pursued by a tarantula. Luckily Jason slept like a rock, and Piper's dramatic exit didn't stir him.

Ten minutes later, Piper found Hazel in Jason's room of all places, which she belatedly realized made perfect sense, since it was the one place guaranteed to be empty. Piper closed the door behind her and held her hands up in a placating gesture. "Hazel, I can explain."

Hazel wouldn't meet her eyes. "I don't need the details," she mumbled quickly.

"There are no details!" Piper said indignantly. "He was sleeping in my room when my watch ended, and I didn't want to wake him up and make him move, and these beds are big enough for two anyway."

Hazel's face was returning to it's normal color, Piper noted with relief. She sat down on the bed next to her. "Now, what did you need?"

Hazel swallowed loudly, got up, and began pacing the short length of Jason's room. Still not looking at Piper, she took a shaky breath and began to speak. "I think everyone's been thinking about this prophecy the wrong way. Or, well, I think we've been working with too narrow a perspective. I've always believed that heroes can change history. I think the prophecy has several meanings, and we get to pick which one."

Piper considered. She could understand why Hazel would want to believe that, given her history. Piper herself wanted to believe that, badly. Hazel continued.

"What if it was like this? Seven half-bloods shall answer the call to storm or fire. That's the sentence. This quest began when you, Jason, Leo, and Annabeth were at the grand canyon with the storm spirits. And then three of you followed those storm spirits across the country. Answering their call, if you will."

Hazel glanced up to make sure Piper was following, so she nodded, wide eyed.

"Frank, Percy, and I answered the call to fire; when Leo fired on New Rome, that's when we had to make the decision of whether or not we were coming." Hazel wiped her hands on her jeans nervously. "So then the rest of that line is just 'The world must fall'. You're right that it's Gaea. Maybe there's a way that this could go, where the world does get destroyed. But there is a way where world means Gaea, I'm sure of it." Piper was sure of it, too, and she felt a rush of affection for her friend. Hazel's vote of confidence made Piper feel a little less scared out of her mind. "The way that's phrased: an order. It's up to us to carry it out." Piper nodded again; that much had been apparent from the beginning.

"But how it falls…" Hazel mused. "That's the question. But then I realized we've been given the answer." Hazel leveled Piper's gaze, prompting her to finish the thought.

Piper fumbled. "Um, well… I guess that would be, ah… potential energy? In order for something to fall, it had to have been elevated in the first place?" Only because her two best friends were Annabeth and Leo was this engrained in Piper's mind. Hazel grinned. "So what you're saying is, uh…. Oh!" Piper exclaimed.

Hazel nodded grimly.

"Gaea has to rise before she falls…and we have to figure out how to do that."

"You're not going to like it," Hazel said. "But it's all we've got."

Piper scrutinized her friend's expression. On the surface, there was nothing but fierce determination. Behind that, though, she could see the arrogance in the set of her jaw and the gleam of a challenge in her eyes. Hazel hadn't picked just anyone to listen to her theory. Hazel needed something from Piper, specifically; something that she wasn't sure Piper would be able, or willing, to give. An ominous feeling began to creep up on her because, Piper suddenly realized, she already _knew_ exactly how Gaea planned to wake.

"She needs the blood of Olympus," Piper whispered, the full horror of the situation finally sinking in. "That's _us_."

_The blood of Olympus_. Piper felt like she was drowning in her realization. The blood of Olympus was real. Gaea hadn't been lying. The blood of Olympus really would wake Gaea from her slumber, because she, Piper, was going to make that happen. The blood of Olympus… the blood of Olympus was coursing undiluted through her veins! The power to wake Gaea was in her hands; hers and Hazel's. Piper's heart beat so hard it hurt. Her hands were slick with sweat. She was glad she was already sitting down because her vision seemed funny and there was a faint ringing in her ears.

Piper squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head sharply, trying to clear it. She took a breath and opened her eyes. "Okay," she started, calmer than she felt. "So we're the sacrifice. That makes sense. Waking her on our own terms is better than sitting around waiting for it to happen, right?" Her voice sounded hollow in her own ears.

Hazel's eyes were almost pitying. "We might not die. It might just take a drop of blood from each of us, I don't know. But I did know that I could count on you to do the right thing with me. You can feel that, right? That this is the right path?"

"Well Gaea had her heart set on Percy and Annabeth because she thinks they're the most powerful out of all of us. But I bet any two demigods would work, if she were to accept the sacrifice." Piper snorted. "She's be an idiot not to, though; I think that Death and Love, one Greek and one Roman, would make a pretty powerful combination."

"Okay." Hazel swallowed with difficulty. "So the next question is when and where we wake her… and how we convince everyone that this is the right decision."

Piper smiled grimly. "Leave that to me."

"I can't let you charmspeak our best friends into agreeing with us about this!"

"I didn't mean that," Piper said quickly. "I have a plan. We leave for Camp Half Blood when we arrive in Epirus, and wake Gaea there. If everything goes according to plan, we'll reach Epirus on the same day Gaea intends to wake, right? There, Jason, Leo, Frank, Annabeth, and Percy will battle the giants until the gods arrive- which they will, because Reyna and Nico will have reunited their Greek and Roman aspects by that time.

"As long as Percy and Annabeth stay out of trouble for the time it takes us to travel to Camp Half Blood and sacrifice our blood instead, Gaea will leave them alone. She plans to wake in Greece because she thinks that's the only place she _can_ wake, but that's because she didn't take us into account. Her end goal has always been Camp Half-Blood."

Hazel was perplexed. "But Piper, there's _no way_ we can get to Camp Half-Blood from here; it's taking Nico days and _days_ to shadow travel there, and I've never even done it once by myself…."

"Well, there is one other option." Piper raised an eyebrow at Hazel. "Were you serious about controlling the Labyrinth?"

"Of course!" Hazel exclaimed happily. "Piper, you're a genius! That's perfect."

"Do you know how long that would take?" The way Annabeth told it, time and space seemed to lose all meaning inside the labyrinth.  
>"Forty-two minutes," Hazel answered promptly.<p>

Piper frowned. That jogged a memory. "Forty-two minutes," she echoed, suddenly remembering. "The length of time to get from one point on the earth's surface to any other point, if you were to burrow underneath the surface to connect the points in a perfectly straight, frictionless tunnel!" _Man_, she was good!

Hazel laughed. "Leo?"

"And Annabeth." Piper sighed. "Speaking of whom…"

"Yep. She and Percy aren't going to be very happy with us."

Piper shook her head. "They may not like it, but not going's not an option."

"We'll just have to make them see sense," Hazel summed up in a worried tone. "How hard can that be?"

Piper decided to ignore the instinct that was telling her this would be impossible. There was no sense in entertaining those thoughts anymore. Either their plan would work, or the world would end; there would be no in betweens. That seemed to lift some of the burden.

Piper kicked off her shoes and crawled under the blanket. "Group meeting's not for a few hours, anyway. We should get some sleep."

"We'll need it," Hazel agreed, laying down beside her. The lights faded to pitch black on their own.

"You're seriously the coolest, Hazel," Piper mumbled sleepily.

"Nah, that's you," she replied. "Now get some sleep."

And despite the terror churning in her stomach, and the guilt gnawing away at her chest at the thought of Jason's reaction to their plan, Piper finally slept.

Her dreams were as vivid and terrifying as they had been during her first days at Camp Half-Blood, when the giant Enceladus was baiting her. It made Piper wonder who was choreographing her nightmares this time.

She dreamed of home. It was the dead of night at Camp Half-Blood, and Piper found herself standing outside the Aphrodite cabin, looking across the field at the shrine of the two-faced god, Janus. A cloaked figure was hunched in front of the shrine, flipping coins and tallying the results. Piper willed her dream forward and caught her breath in horror: a partially unfurled scroll was playing out a scene more terrifying than the images from Katoptris itself.

She saw Percy and Annabeth flying over Half-Blood Hill on Blackjack, Percy's pegasus. Percy was battling a gryphon with one arm, and holding an unconscious Annabeth up with his other arm. The gryphon dodged Percy's blade and circled back around for another attack. Piper waited for Percy to deliver the fatal blow, but something was wrong- he slashed and missed; Annabeth's head lolled. The sun glinted off the weapon in Percy's hand- a triangular piece of celestial bronze, smaller than Piper had been expecting. Her insides went cold. She would recognize that knife anywhere.

A rogue drachma suddenly hit Piper in the forehead and she caught it, startled. The person flipping coins sensed Piper's presence immediately and whipped around. Piper found herself face to face with a young girl dressed in a bizarre combination of a tank top and running shorts and white, shimmering robes. No, not robes- they fell off the girl's shoulders of their own accord and spread out magnificently; they were glittering white wings, and Piper felt she had never seen anything more beautiful.

They locked eyes. Piper gulped.

"Why would you give your knife to Percy Jackson?" The girl asked, agitated.

Piper blinked. "I- I didn't, and I don't-" she swallowed- "have any plans to-"

The girl shook her head sharply. "Don't speak to me of _plans_. You'll win or you'll lose this war, the planning and _scheming_- that doesn't make a difference, it never will." She wrung her hands in frustration, and was talking so fast it was hard for Piper to keep up. "_You_, Piper Mclean, you think that life is shades of grey, filled with nuances- _emotions_ can wake a dragon, stop an enemy, win a war. You'll learn soon that none of it matters; and the sooner you do, the better." Her gaze was fierce, and left Piper scrambling for words.

"The better for- for _who_, exactly?"

The girl cocked her head to the side, like this question shouldn't even be a concern of Piper's. "Do you even know who I am?" The ground rumbled. Small fires broke out in patches on the field and the air thickened with smoke.

"What's happening?" Piper gasped for air. "Why are you- what do you think you're doing?"

The girl smiled serenely, which made Piper want to punch her. "But this isn't my doing, Piper Mclean. This is your wakeup call."

Piper sat bolt upright and retched. The smoke was thickening. Hazel was pulling on her arm frantically, trying to get her to move.

"C'mon, Piper! The ship's on fire, we have to find Percy!"

"Ok I'm-" Piper choked and blinked tears out of her eyes. "Alright, I'm coming!" Hazel dragged her roughly towards the door. On her way out, Piper saw something that turned her insides to ice. A single golden drachma on her pillow.

Author's Note:

The chapter title is from the song Children Will Listen from the musical Into the Woods.


	3. PIPER (PART II)

PIPER (PART II)- Wishes are Children

"What can you possibly mean," Jason hissed, his voice deadly quiet, "that it was an accident?"

Leo gulped. "Listen," he began nervously. "I think you might be overreacting a bit, I mean-"

"I'm overreacting?" Jason looked angrier than Piper had ever seen him. "You're the genius who took one look at a freaking hydra and decided you could take it down by yourself."

Frank, sitting next to Leo and across the table from Jason, cleared his throat and raised his hand feebly. "To be fair, I was on watch with him. Go ahead and call it a group effort."

"That only makes it worse, Zhang!" Jason shouted. "We're a team! We've got enough hero complexes on this ship with Percy and Annabeth alone, we don't need you and Leo getting in over your heads trying to prove yourselves."

Piper spoke up in a soothing voice with a little charmspeak thrown into it, hoping to distract Percy and Annabeth from Jason's comment. "How about we all talk this through calmly? I'm sure Leo and Frank didn't mean to burn the ship down. And thanks to Percy and Annabeth, the fire was put out quickly enough that there was minimal damage."

Jason crossed his arms and scowled, but spoke in a much calmer tone. "Well now our entire plumbing system is trashed, so I don't see how we're any better off this way."

Annabeth, who had been picking distractedly at a plate of food at the beginning of the argument, now looked like she was ready for hand to hand combat. Piper put a hand on her arm. "Listen, guys," she began sternly. "Frank and Leo made a mistake. They thought they could handle the hydra by themselves- which makes sense, because fire is a good way to beat a hydra."

"Exactly," Frank cut in. "I turned into a dragon, right, because they're immune to fire, and Leo already is, too, and so we waited for it to get close enough, see, and then we blasted it."

"It was a very controlled burn," Leo cut in hurriedly. "We were doing a good job, but ah- well, so was the hydra."

Frank took over. "So technically, it was the hydra that started the fire. All Leo and I did was, well- fail to notice it in time."

Piper smiled around her gritted teeth. "Yes. And Jason, Annabeth breaking the cold water tank and Percy flooding the ship with sea water was the only way to save the ship. We're all doing our best here; how about we try to be a little more tolerant of other people's mistakes?"

Jason pursed his lips, but agreed in the defeated way only a victim of charmspeak can. "Fine."

"And Frank, Leo… next time you see something dangerous, sound the alarm before things get out of hand." Piper said firmly. "Are we clear?"

They nodded. Piper breathed a sigh of relief as people started to pick up spoons and forks and returned their attentions to food.

Suddenly, Piper's sleep deprived, ADHD driven mind remembered something Annabeth had told her a few months ago- the reason she absolutely, no negotiations, had to find Percy, and wouldn't stop until she did. Piper rounded on Percy with sudden irritation.

"Percy, do you have any idea how much easier this would have been if you'd just accepted the gods' offer for immortality like any normal person would have?"

Jason started choking on his cheeseburger and Hazel thumped him on the back until a large chunk of chewed up beef patty flew across the table and landed on Percy's plate. Piper wondered for a second if he'd been aiming. Then she looked around and realized no one was paying attention to her boyfriend's half chewed food- they were all staring openmouthed at Percy. All except Annabeth, who was giving Piper the evil eye.

Whoops. Apparently that hadn't come up yet with any of the rest of the seven. "Er, I mean-" Piper tried to backtrack.

"You WHAT?" Jason interrupted. "How the- wait a minute-" Jason looked like his brain was whirring away at a mile a minute, and he didn't like the conclusion he was coming to. "You mean to tell me…"

"Well what in all of Hades made you decide to turn it down?" Leo demanded.

Percy tried not to look at Annabeth while Annabeth tried not to look guilty. Neither one of them had much of a poker face.

"WHAT?" Leo shrieked. "You guys are- are-" Leo clearly didn't have a wide enough range of vocabulary to adequately describe the couple's insanity.

"You guys are really lucky you found each other," Hazel finished, an amused sort of smile playing on her lips.

Annabeth smirked. "Oh, trust me, luck had nothing to do with it." She wrapped her arms around Percy's neck and pulled him in for a kiss. When they broke apart, Percy shot Jason an impish sort of look and shrugged his shoulders as if to say, can you blame me?

"I totally slew the Titan Krios with my bare hands," Jason mumbled petulantly. "Why wasn't I offered immortality?"

Percy fought a smile. "One of the many perks of growing up Greek, my friend."

The blob of hamburger rose from Percy's plate and nailed him in the middle of his forehead. Percy blinked. Jason's lips twitched. Then the water in Jason's cup rose up in one giant, ominous blob and dropped over his head. For a second, everyone on the Argo II seemed to hold their breath, and then Jason and Percy both burst out laughing. It was a sound Piper hadn't heard in far too long.

-o-o-o-

Eventually Hazel caught Piper's eye and raised her eyebrows. Piper nodded. Hazel cleared her throat, and everyone looked up.

"So Piper and I had this idea," she began casually. "We think that there's another way to read the prophecy, where 'to storm or fire the world must fall' has nothing to do with Jason or Leo."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?"

"We don't. But what if 'seven half-bloods shall answer the call to storm or fire' was the sentence? And then 'the world must fall' just stands by itself." Hazel looked around eagerly. "See? Because we all answered the call to either the storm spirits or the eidolons firing on New Rome. Get it?" She was met by silence.

Frank put a hand on her arm. "Hazel," he started uncertainly. "That's a big leap to make, don't you think? I mean, sure, sometimes prophecies have multiple meanings, but…"

Jason nodded. "This seems like we're grasping at straws. Maybe it works out that way, maybe it doesn't. I say we stick to the plan and see where it takes us."

"And, Hazel," Annabeth looked highly skeptical. "I didn't answer the call to the storm spirits. I didn't answer the call to fire, either. I chose this quest when we realized where Percy had been taken. I just… I don't think it's enough to go off of."

"Wait." All eyes turned to Piper. "There's more; hear her out."

Hazel took a breath, gave Piper a small smile of gratitude, and began again. "The only thing we know for sure is this: in order for something to fall, it had to have been elevated in the first place."

Annabeth glared at Piper, clearly knowing where they were going with the plan. "Let me get this straight. You think the only way Gaea can be destroyed is if we wake her first."

Piper simply nodded. She didn't want to give Annabeth any reason to think she was using charmspeak to persuade her.

"Ok," Annabeth said sarcastically. "Makes sense. No, really. I bet you guys have a grand master plan of how to wake her, hmm? And then to defeat her, right?Because you know, that is the end goal, here. Remember?"

Hazel glared at Annabeth. "That's a bit rich coming from the girl who gave Kronos a knife at the end of the Battle of Manhattan," she snapped.

Annabeth looked like she'd been punched. "Don't you dare talk about things you don't know about."

"Then don't you try to stop me. A blood sacrifice from two demigods is all it will take. Piper and I travel to Camp Half Blood, spill our own blood, and wake Gaea. This is the last thing she'll be expecting. We'll have surprise on our sides, and all the Greek and Roman demigods, and…" she trailed off when she realized that no one was listening.

Jason spoke up gently. "So, okay, maybe a couple of drops will be enough. But what if there's some sort of ancient law, like if you're willing to make a blood sacrifice, you die? I mean, if just pricking your finger counted, I feel like everyone would be doing it."

Piper grimaced. She hadn't thought of that, and by the looks of it, neither had Hazel. Unfortunately, she had to admit that Jason had a point. According to Annabeth, all it took was one tiny cut and a willingness to sacrifice for Luke to die last year.

Piper squared her shoulders. "We can't think like that," she decided. "The point is that it might work, it goes with the prophecy, and if Nico and Reyna succeed, we'll have both camps to back us up if we need it."

Percy raised his hand. "How do you plan on getting there? Hazel, you can't possibly think that you can shadow travel there first try, can you?"

Piper thought everyone was being a bit unfair. How many times did Hazel have to prove herself before everyone stopped treating her like the little kid of the group? She tried not to let her irritation show. It didn't matter, anyway, because shadow traveling wasn't the plan.

"You're right, shadow travel would be too unreliable- I've only done it once in my life," Hazel addressed the group calmly. "We'll be going through the Labyrinth."

Annabeth choked. Percy looked like he wanted to keep arguing, but Frank cut him off.

"Hazel, you can't be serious."

Hazel glared at him. "I'm perfectly serious."

"You can't be! In case you've forgotten, Gaea can wake up in ten different places at once if she wants- which she does! We can't let you and Piper leave, that's spreading way too thin!"

Hazel looked fit to murder. "Oh, you won't let me now?"

"I didn't mean that," he said quietly. "I just meant..." He scowled. "If you two are set on going, I'm coming with you."

Leo rolled his eyes."Ok, so you, Hazel, Piper, and hey- let's throw Jason in there for good measure- leave for Camp Half Blood at dawn." He pretended to shoo them away. "Run along now! Don't forget a toothbrush!"

Percy stood up. "This plan is ridiculous."

"I'm not the one who brought it up," Frank grumbled.

Suddenly Percy looked violently sick. "Hazel," he leaned forward, pleading now. "I can't let you do this to Nico again."

Hazel looked like she'd been slapped, but Percy pressed on, starting to talk too fast through his panic. "Please, Hazel, don't do this to him. You don't know what it was like, you weren't here before when he lost Bianca. I couldn't bear it if-" Percy took a shaky breath. "It would kill him, Hazel, it would kill him, and you're just going to-" for a second, Piper was afraid he was crying, but he just clenched his jaw and started over. "Let me go with you," he begged. "Let me go with you, and I'll sacrifice instead of you, and I'll fix-"

Hazel was crying now. "Is that all I am to you and Nico? A way to fix the mistakes you made with Bianca? I thought you were my friend, Percy, but all you'll be thinking about if I die is yourself!" She put her head down on her arms and started sobbing in earnest.

Frank glared at Percy and rushed to put his arm around Hazel. "Percy, how can you say that to her?" he demanded. "It's hard enough for her as it-" "Don't you start, too." Hazel shrugged him off of her and pointed her finger accusingly. "You're just as bad! You think that I can't go by myself because you're afraid of what will happen to you when I die! And you don't all have to act like I'm throwing myself off a bridge or something. I'm taking a risk because I believe that its the right thing to do, which is no different at all from what you guys do every day!"

"Everyone, shut up." Annabeth jumped up and glared at Percy until he sat back down. Then she leveled her gaze at Piper and Hazel. "You, and you," she snapped. "Upstairs." Piper shrunk back in her seat.

"What are you doing?" Frank demanded.

"Girl talk," Annabeth announced. "Now." She stormed out, not waiting to see if Piper and Hazel would follow.

-o-o-o-

"Annabeth, what are we even doing up here?"

Piper and Hazel had been watching Annabeth pace the observation deck, waiting for her to speak. After a couple minutes, Piper realized it wasn't going to happen. She perched herself on the edge of the Argo II next to Festus to wait.

Eventually, Annabeth stopped pacing and spoke.

"Hazel, I'm really sorry about what Percy said to you." She was chewing on her lower lip, like she wasn't sure if what she was about to say would make things better or worse. "I never knew Bianca, but from what Percy told me, I think she would be proud of you. And I know Nico is, too."

Hazel nodded cautiously. "Thanks, Annabeth."

"And I want you both to know that… well, no matter what happens, you're both heroes to me."

Piper froze. "Why are you saying this?"

"Because maybe your idea would work," she said sadly. "We've all had visions of Gaea waking; some have been at Camp Half Blood. And if you're right…" Annabeth swallowed heavily. "Well, then this isn't my prophecy, is it?"

Hazel frowned. "Ok, but- well, I mean you're still part of the decision. So is everyone on this ship. How do you expect us to convince them that this is the right way?"

"Right way?" Annabeth shook her head. "There's no such thing. We'll have no way of knowing how to win this war until it's all been said and done. But you know what I say? Screw the prophecy. Nobody controls your destiny but you."

Author's note:

Thanks to everyone who read, followed, or commented!  
>The chapter title is the line that comes after the previous chapter's title in Children Will Listen from Into the Woods.<p> 


	4. NICO

NICO- My Thoughts are Sporadic, I Act Like I'm An Addict

Nico loved the shadows. He _missed_ the shadows. Contrary to the beliefs of a certain self-righteous son of Jupiter, they had been a welcome companion his entire life. In fact, the farther into dangerous territory this quest took him, the more he found himself craving their protective embrace. Tartarus had been different- a murky halfway point between life and death, containing literally the worst horrors the world had to offer, and Nico didn't miss _that_ one bit…. But there was something about the cold familiarity of the shadows that put Nico in the mindset of much simpler times.

Shadow traveling was like that- it provided a brief respite from, haunting memories, crippling fears, and most importantly, the reality of what he was facing. Now, as he prepared for the last shadow jump before they would have to cross the Atlantic, his entire body buzzed with an uncomfortable energy and he found himself eagerly anticipating the darkness' leaching effect on it.

Reyna touched his arm and Nico jerked away and drew his sword without thinking.

"Sorry, sorry!" she cried, backing away quickly. Her eyes followed Nico in a way that made him wonder what his expression must look like.

He sighed and sheathed his sword. This was the dozenth time this had happened since he and Reyna had set out together. "It's ok. You just surprised me." He paused, then reluctantly continued. "And I'm sorry, too. I wasn't going to attack you, I promise."

Reyna smiled. "I know. It's ok." Nico nodded in acknowledgement and Reyna changed the subject. "How do you feel, strength wise?"

"Good," he answered honestly. "Almost like I have too much energy. Like I-" He broke off, agitated. He couldn't concentrate. He ran a hand through his hair and found himself pressing hard on his scalp in frustration.

Again, Reyna reached out as if to comfort Nico, but withdrew almost instantly this time. Nico shook his head to clear it and dropped his arm. "I'm fine," he assured Reyna before she could ask. "I feel powerful. I mean, not _powerful_, just- I don't know." He broke off sharply again, distracted by the beating of his heart, his shallow breaths. "Let's just get this over with," he finally spat out, the uncomfortable tightening of his chest making it come out harsher than intended.

Nico clenched his jaw against an angry outburst as he watched Coach Hedge fumble his harness twice before finally clipping in. He could feel his pulse pounding from his chest all the way to his fingertips and toes. He silently reminded himself to breath and counted down from three to give Reyna and Coach Hedge time to brace themselves. Nico forced himself into the darkness, finally feeling himself relax as the seemingly endless void drew an exhilarated scream from his throat.

-o-o-o-o-

It was cold. Cold and _loud_. As they zipped through the never ending darkness at breakneck speed, Nico could feel the excess energy leaving his limbs as though it were being drained from him. Overwhelmed by sensation, Nico's conscious mind was blissfully empty; he savored the brief glimpse of mental relief he was allotted before steeling himself to return to the normal world.

An immeasurable amount of time later, Nico, Reyna, Coach Hedge, and the Athena Parthenos appeared in the shadow of a cliff overlooking a thankfully unpopulated beach on the northern coast of Spain. As had become predictable over the past few shadow-jumps, Coach Hedge immediately turned green, mumbled something about shadows not being compatible with his fun loving, nature friendly spirit, and sat down with his head between his knees to recuperate.

Much less predictably, Reyna stumbled and fell to her knees, retching, although apparently she hadn't eaten in a while because nothing was coming up. While Nico waited for his companions to recover their strength, he stepped out into the sunlight. For the first time he could remember, he actually _enjoyed_ the feeling- basked in it. The sun glinted off the choppy seawater in the distance making the entire ocean glitter and sparkle. Not for the first time, Nico was rendered speechless in the wake of its beauty.

He drew in a deep breath and felt the oxygen travel to his fingertips and toes. The sunlight warming his face in that moment was the most welcome sensation he could imagine. Maybe after all this was over, he would start spending more time outdoors during the daytime- maybe he would even get a tan. Nico barked out a laugh at the mere thought.

Reyna turned to face him, her expression livid. "What in the name of Hades," she ground out furiously, "was that?"

"Sorry…I wasn't laughing at you, honest!"

"Not that," Reyna said flatly. "This was the shortest jump you've made so far; what could have _possibly_ taken you so long?"

"I… didn't realize it took me any longer than usual," Nico hedged.

Reyna dragged herself into a normal sitting position and surveyed Nico. "You seem fine," she noted with surprise. "Maybe you…"

"Maybe I what?" he prompted.

"Maybe you've… built up a tolerance," she said carefully, in a way that made Nico think she wanted to say something else.

"That's possible," he said anyway. "And I really am sorry. I had no idea it would affect you like this."

Reyna shrugged. "It doesn't usually. I guess it's just from the prolonged exposure. It's fine. I guess it's just…." She trailed off, looking exhausted beyond all measure. "I need to lay down," she muttered as she slumped forward onto the sand. "Make sure you get me up if anything…happens," she mumbled sleepily.

Well, that was…strange. Nico had felt so good a minute ago that he hadn't been expecting to have to rest for more than an hour between this jump and the jump across the atlantic. Not that he didn't still feel good, but it would clearly be unsafe for Reyna or Hedge to shadow travel again any time soon. So they would rest.

Nico settled down with his back against the cliff, a few feet away from his incapacitated companions to keep watch. He supposed a rest would do him some good, anyway. They were a few hours ahead of schedule, and if Reyna was right about him building up a tolerance, then maybe the jump across the Atlantic wouldn't kill him as much as he'd been expecting. The thought brightened him considerably. Maybe he would even be conscious enough to help fight when the final battle inevitably went down. At that thought, Nico almost smiled.

But then what? That was always the question, wasn't it? He dug around in the damp sand, enjoying the cool feeling against his fingers.

Nico thought he knew what everyone else would be doing after Gaea was defeated: Jason would stay at Camp Half-Blood to be with Piper and Leo; that much had been evident since his first couple of weeks at Camp Half-Blood. Percy and Annabeth? Nico knew that Percy had a ridiculous obsession with leading a normal life, and so he was sure that the two of them would be planning on attending high school again. Privately, Nico didn't think they would make it very far; demigods weren't meant to be confined to such a mundane existence, but as always, he would keep his opinions to himself. And as for the rest of the seven, Frank would return to Camp Jupiter with Reyna as her Co-Praetor, and Hazel would follow Frank. But would Nico follow Hazel?

No. It wasn't even a question. Nico loved Hazel, even more than he thought would have been possible, after Bianca. But it would never be enough to hold him anywhere. Nico was on such thin ice as it was- always just barely hanging on to his sanity since Tartarus. The quick, easy getaway that he had imagined on the horizon was sometimes the only thing that kept him going through this brutal ordeal. The thought of taking that away now… Nico shuddered.

Of course, things weren't so bad right now. Between the sun's rays glinting off the ocean's surface, and the smell of salt in the cool morning breeze, Nico felt like he was finally seeing the world for its true beauty. So still and silent, making Nico appreciate it all the more. Truly alone with his thoughts for the first time since before Tartarus, Nico felt strangely at peace with the world. Even stranger, he had felt almost _happy_ a few minutes ago. And so clear-headed! Events and decisions fell into orderly rows of logic in his mind where mere hours earlier, they had been a jumbled mess of confusion and anxiety.

So he would leave. A child of the underworld wasn't meant to spend so much time among the living, anyway- his poisoned relationships with everyone but Hazel were proof enough of that. And even if he could make friends at Camp Half-Blood with Jason or Piper or even Annabeth… well, Nico wasn't sure that was what he wanted. After years of wandering by himself and exploring the worlds of the living and the dead, settling down within the confines of Camp Half-Blood seemed like a prison sentence. Supposing that he was even capable of considering Camp Half-Blood his home, would that feeling of belonging even be worth it? Somehow, he doubted it.

-o-o-o-o-

Hours later, Reyna was showing no signs of waking up, and Nico was drowning in his own restlessness. There were too many thoughts swirling around in his head without actions attached to them. Coach Hedge, who had long ago tired himself out with a very active approach to keeping watch and had since been sitting at the foot of the cliff next to Nico, stood up suddenly.

"I'm gonna go make some calls, kid. Call in a few favors with the wind nymphs, maybe pick up some supplies."

Nico dragged himself back to the present. "Some more nectar would be good, if you can swing it." He nodded towards Reyna. "She'll need it when she wakes up."

The coach nodded and shouldered his pack. "I'm just gonna see what's on the other side of this cliff. I won't go far."

Nico gave a noncommittal shrug. "Just be back before noon. Once the sun gets to our side of the cliff, we're stuck here."

Coach Hedge gave him a mock salute, kicked off his sneakers, and scampered up the face of the cliff like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Nico huffed a sigh. He thought back to when he first saw Percy at Camp Jupiter- lost, scared, and alone, without a single memory from his past life to guide him. Nico could imagine what it must have felt like to finally get those memories back- like the breath of life after being held underwater for too long, reality shifting back to what it should be.

Not the case. Nico never got the chance to really talk to Percy after he got his memories back, so he didn't know what it had been like for him. But for Nico at least, recovering his memories had been even more painful than swallowing the fire-water from the river Phlegethon that had brought them back in the first place.

He now missed his mother more than he possibly could have before because he finally remembered enough of her to have a real concept of what he was _missing_. Even Bianca's death became freshly painful, now that he remembered every detail about her; now that he had a complete concept of the life she could have lived. But it was even more than that. And in a strange way, he _had_ been right. Recovering his memories was like waking up after a long dream, a dream in which Camp Half-Blood- and the friends and enemies he'd made there- had been a lie, and the only things that mattered anymore were himself, his mother, and Bianca, and avenging their deaths. Destroying the world that took everything from him without him even realizing it.

A memory was suddenly thrust, unbidden, to the forefront of his mind. Crawling toward the bank of the river Phlegathon, broken glass cutting into his skin- his skin burnt raw all over, threatening to disintegrate- throat and lungs charred black- gasping, retching, fighting for air. Then- reveling in the aftershock of healing physically, laid out, gasping on the banks of the river Phlegathon- then Nico remembered. It came back to him all at once in a rush, and suddenly, the eons of rage and hatred and bitterness that his father had passed on to him rose up inside of Nico with a force he wasn't sure he would survive.

And then that was it- such a powerful embrace of his true identity, the son of Death himself, effectively summoned every monster, Titan, or giant in Tartarus. His enemies closed in and he was trapped- lost, alone, and suffocating- in the bronze jar that had so nearly been his doom.

Nico pressed his head back against the face of the cliff. He dug the heals of his hands into his eyes until he saw stars in an attempt to block the memories. Suddenly unable to stay still for another second, Nico jumped up and drew his sword. He briefly entertained the idea of summoning a ghost or two, just for something to do other than claw his own eyeballs out, but he knew he couldn't. He needed to conserve his strength for their journey across the Atlantic.

_Conserving his energy._ Nico kicked at the ground, sending up a spray of sand around him. That was always what everyone asked of him- conserve, conserve, conserve. Nico wanted _action_, was desperate for it. Overcome with a sudden burst of pent up anger and frustration, Nico threw his sword javelin style as far away from himself as he could get it. It stuck in the sand a good fifty meters away in a very satisfying manner. In the next instant, Nico was surrounded.

It was as though they had been waiting patiently, maybe for hours, until Coach Hedge had left and Nico parted with his sword. His heart dropped to his stomach and a wave of regret of an intensity he wouldn't have believed himself capable of crashed painfully over him. And yet, as he sprung into action- shadow traveling over to his sword and back again in rapid succession- Nico felt such relief at having something to do again that he could have cried.

Nico swung his sword around in a wide circle, scattering the three- no, four- empousai that surrounded him. He backed up against the cliff and ran through a few battle plans in his head.

"I've been waiting a long time to meet you, Nico DiAngelo," one of the empousa simpered in a sugary sweet voice that was so at odds with her appearance- an absurd combination of animal, bronze automaton, and ghost- that Nico bit his lip to stop his laughter.

"Um, really? How'd you hear about me, then?" Nico raised his eyebrows and let his sword drop a couple inches.

There was a brief tousle over, it seemed, who would be the one to answer Nico's question. One of the demons with fiery red hair finally pushed forward and gave Nico a blazing smile. "Oh, who doesn't know about you, Nico? Your escape in Rome is all anybody's been talking about lately." She was coming dangerously close, but Nico forced himself not to attack just yet. He made his eyes glaze over, hoping with all his might that the empousai were too focused on him to notice Reyna.

"And don't get us started on that little performance of your's in Tartarus," a brunette empousa with truly horrible blonde highlights continued with a high pitched giggle. "The child of the underworld, come home to his roots at last!" She giggled again and her appearance flickered back and fourth between strange automaton/donkey/vampire and high school cheerleader. Well, Nico didn't actually know what cheerleaders looked like, but if they were dumb, blonde, and supermodel skinny with fake smiles, then she was nailing it.

Lucky for Nico, both images were equally repulsive. Also lucky for Nico, none of them seemed to realize this. They pushed each other around some more, jockeying for position. Nico guessed that whoever killed him got some sort of reward from…

"So, um, who do you young ladies work for, anyway?"

The redhead rolled her eyes. "Gaea, silly. Didn't you hear that Hecate switched sides?"

Seeing as how it had been Hazel who helped make that happen, Nico had heard. But he feigned surprise and leaned in eagerly to hear the story. The demon stepped even closer, put a hand against the cliff behind Nico, and leaned in for the kill, baring her fangs.

In one swift movement, Nico disappeared into the shadow of the cliff, reappeared in the shadow of the blonde who was the farthest back, and exploded three of the empousai into dust with one swipe of his sword.

The redhead turned around and screamed in frustration. Nico grinned smugly. "Bet you never met anyone like me before, huh?" He lashed out with his sword, but the demon dodged his strike.

"I heard _rumors_," she snarled nastily, vaulting over Nico and coming at him from behind. Nico twisted and slashed again, this time hitting her bronze leg with a loud _clang_ that caused Reyna to stir. "Tell me, DiAngelo. Who else knows?" Nico lunged forward and struck her again, but again she danced away. _Please, please, don't let her notice Reyna. _"Your partner in crime, Reyna," she continued, gesturing over her shoulder to where Reyna was still laying in the sand. "Does she know?"

Nico glowered. "What's it to you? I guess you've never had to fight on even footing before, huh? What are you so afraid of?"

Nico lunged and missed, but this time he tripped and collapsed in a heap on the ground. His eyelids began to close of their own accord. Was this some sort of power of empousai that he hadn't heard of, and worse, wasn't immune to? Was it left over fatigue from the rapid succession of shadow-jumps? He tried to call out a warning to Reyna, but only managed a feeble cough. His last bitter thought before he succumbed to unconsciousness was that he was probably the only gay demigod in the history of forever to die at the hands of a seductress. After the Labyrinth, the battle of Manhattan, and Tartarus, this was a horribly insulting way to die.

-o-o-o-o-

Nico dreamed of the demigods from the Argo II. The seven demigods of the prophecy were gathered around the table in the mess hall, picking at their food and looking unsettled.

"So maybe she does have a weakness," Jason was saying. "Percy, tell everyone the thing about- you know." He looked down at the table awkwardly, but Percy didn't seem to notice.

"About wh- oh, yeah! So I was thinking that, you know, monsters and gods and really everything that's immortal I think-" his eyes flickered briefly to Annabeth who nodded encouragingly- "they all depend on us, demigods, and also mortals I guess, to keep believing in them, right? If we don't, they disappear." He looked around eagerly. "So maybe we could use that to our advantage somehow?"

Jason nodded. "I don't know how we could use that, honestly, but maybe we'll think of something. The important thing is keeping this in perspective- Gaea's not unbeatable. We just have to go about it the right way."

"Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it," Annabeth quoted excitedly, "and I shall move the world."

Leo laughed out loud. "I'll give you a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it- I mean-" he turned red and glanced guiltily at Percy. "Sorry, Annabeth- it was right there, I mean, c'mon, I had to- you know what? I'm gonna shut up now." Leo clamped his mouth shut and tried to avoid everyone's questioning eyes.

"Does anyone else want to know what the heck a fulcrum is?" Percy finally burst out.

"It's the point the lever rests on and pivots around," Annabeth said with a straight face.

"It's not exactly the point of the joke," Leo explained. "It was supposed to be-" Piper glared at Leo and clapped a hand over his mouth to keep him from finishing his statement, but she was holding back laughter.

"Hey, Leo," she said sweetly, "how about you stop talking for a second and let everyone get back on track?"

-o-o-o-o-

"NICO!" Someone was shaking him roughly. Nico spluttered and coughed. He knew a thing or two about death, and thankfully, this wasn't it. He wished he was physically capable of doing anything, even moving, but he felt like he'd been chewed up by Cerberus and spit back out again. "Nico, please!" Reyna sounded close to tears. "We have to go!"

"I…can't," he rasped. Nico couldn't even open his eyes; there was no way he could make it across the Atlantic with Reyna, Hedge, and the statue in tow.

"It doesn't matter where," Reyna pleaded. It sounded like she was clipping the harnesses into place. "We have to get out of here, Nico!"

Nico couldn't think. His head felt like it was splitting open. Blood roared in his ears. But Reyna was gripping his hand desperately and Nico was starting to hear the unmistakable sounds of an army getting too close for comfort, so he let himself fall into the cliff's shadow, having no idea if he would find the strength to bring himself back out.

Author's note:

Thanks for reading, everyone! And thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, or favorited! This is the chapter I was most excited to write, I absolutely love writing from Nico's perspective. What do you think? Please let me know how I'm doing! Is there a specific point of view that you want to hear from next? Any predictions for what happens next?

I will try to update as often as possible, but unfortunately, about once a month is probably the fastest I will be able to write.


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